Tempus Incognitus

From the moment I saw Brad Carlile’s Tempus Incognitus online, I knew it was special. At the time I had no idea how it was made. Those concerns were not primary – I’ve always gone with my gut first. But the more I know about it, the more it makes sense that it would be made the slow way, just like slow food. Days and hours of light and time pour in to make a single image.

There are many reasons why great paintings are great. I always felt that an artist literally pours themselves into the work. Over time the sweat, the blood, the spirit, the DNA, it all gets transferred into the piece. You can actually feel this in great paintings – a spiritual and physical presence is there, it’s not our imagination. That’s why museums feel so good. They house a myriad of surfaces which are far from merely surface. You don’t even have to lay your eyes on something to know that from the moment you entered the space, everything changed.

These photographs register similarly. They are not just a matter of a moment with a shutter (not that there is anything wrong with that). Their drenched reality is reliant on the slow time, light, patience, mind and sweat of the artist.

Thanks to everyone for coming out these past few days. I'll be sitting there Friday through Sunday all this month.